Page 69 of Forbidden Forward

“Here.” I check myself in the dresser mirror, straighten a few bits, and hustle out to the living area. First, I plaster on a phony smile, ready to be captivated by Donny’s narrative about his golf and beach escapades in Fort Lauderdale.

My phone pings, and I glance down and see a text from Colby. Pins of anticipation prick me. “You look beat, bro. Why don’t you put your stuff away, and I’ll fix us some drinks?”

He agrees, and I practically race to my room and shut the door behind me.

Hey, first mate. Did you make it home yet?

He adds a thinking-face emoji, and my heart makes an “Awww” sound.

I tap hurriedly, but my phone rings. Colby. I school my excitement and keep my voice low as I answer, “Hey, I was just texting you to let you know I got home okay. Donny’s just got home too.”

His tone relaxes with relief. “Did you say anything to him about where you were or what you did?”

“You mean like, ‘Hey, I spent the weekend having incredible sex with your teammate on his boat’? Hell no! I may not always exercise the best judgment, but I’m not that reckless.”

His warm chuckle rumbles through the line. “It was more than incredible. It was mind-blowing.” He makes an exploding sort of noise.

My face heats. I want to tell him I miss him, but I hold back. “Sounds like you’re in your truck.”

“Yup, I’m about an hour out.” He pauses a beat, and when he speaks, his voice glides over me like warm silk and curls low in my belly. “What are you doing in an hour?”

I take a moment to rein in my eagerness. “Sleeping? Someone kept me up all weekend.”

“Because you kept that someone up all weekend.” His deep, warm timbre envelops me. “I’m not kidding about later. Wanna take an elevator ride down to the twenty-first floor in an hour? I’ll make it worth your while.”

My mind leaps back to the ways he “made it worth my while” this weekend.

A laugh bursts from me. “I’m sure you will.”

“You could sleep at my place.”

“Tempting, but not with Donny here.”

“So don’t sleep at my place. Just come down and give me one of your smiles. I’m in withdrawal.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” The dejection I feel from saying the words weighs me down.

His sigh is palpable. “Do I get to see you before we leave day after tomorrow?”

They’ll be back on the road, and I’m desperate to see him before he goes. “I’ll come up with some excuse to be out tomorrow evening.”

Colby’s voice lifts on a note of hope that claws down what’s left of my defenses. We set a plan, and he ends the call with, “Can’t wait, babe.”

Neither can I. I plot how long it will take me to get home after work, take a shower, and slip into my sexiest lingerie.

The next day, I leave work as soon as the clock says it’s quitting hour and make it home in record time. My hands are full as I exit my Jeep, and I juggle my belongings, dropping my purse on my way to the elevator. When I stoop to pick it up, movement catches the corner of my eye. My brain registers the distinct impression of a human, but when I straighten, nothing’s there. Peering into the darkness, all is still, but I feel eyes on me. The hairs on the back of my neck stand at attention as I hurry toward the elevator.

A half hour later, I stand outside Colby’s door. In one hand, I grasp a bottle of wine. My free hand smooths my hair, my sweater, my jeans one last time as I look up and down the hall on the off chance Donny got wind of our tryst and is hunting me down.

I make a fist and raise it to knock. Hopefully, Colby hasn’t gone to a lot of trouble making dinner because my stomach is kinked into impossible knots. My fist hits the wood, and the door gives way because it’s ajar. I stuff my mouth in the opening. “Hello?”

“Come in, it’s open!” Colby sings from somewhere distant.

Down the hall, the elevator dings, and in my peripheral vision, a masculine form steps out. I push through Colby’s door and close it behind me. The fragrance of garlic and tomato sauce assaults my senses, and my stomach uncoils long enough to signal that it’s ready for food.

Colby comes around the corner to greet me in the foyer. His wide smile puts me at ease the moment I see his handsome face. He looks edible in his bare feet, jeans, and a worn T-shirt that hugs his muscles. When he pulls me into his arms and claims my mouth with a soul-stirring kiss, my knees dissolve.

“Hey,” he says when we finally come up for air.